Is It Possible to Help People Change to a More Healthy Behaviour?
Is it possible to help people to change to more healthy behaviour?
Theories about changes in health behaviour tend to look at:
Cognition: the way people define and think about what they do and how they change their minds in ways that can lead to changing the ways they act; and
Context: the cultural, social, physical, emotional and psychological environments that shape people and the factors that can facilitate change. No one theory can sum up all the factors in health behaviour, but theories can be used to focus on particular aspects of behaviour and to choose the most appropriate programmes for cancer control.
Behaviour: what people do
Behaviour ' is the general term covering all the physical acts performed by individuals. Examples of physical acts include walking, interacting with others, writing, reading and preparing to learn. Behaviour includes seeking or not seeking advice for health care and following or not following a prescribed medical regimen. It includes relationships with tobacco, food, alcohol and so on.
Cognition: what and how people think
Cognition ' is the term given to all the mental processes of an individual and includes not only aspects of thinking, such as knowledge, attitudes, motives, attributions and beliefs, but also perceptions, personal values, perceived cultural truths and memory. Cognition can be influenced by intelligence and past experience. Examples are religious convictions, wanting to be a good parent, distrusting modern medicine, knowing that smoking is dangerous for others but believing that it is not dangerous for one 's own health, and so on.
Context: the setting of behaviour and cognition
Context ' is a general term that is more inclusive than the general perception of the environment. It includes not only the social, cultural and physical environment but also interpersonal influences on behaviour and the emotional and psychological contexts of each act and cognition. These include laws,
Theories about changes in health behaviour tend to look at:
Cognition: the way people define and think about what they do and how they change their minds in ways that can lead to changing the ways they act; and
Context: the cultural, social, physical, emotional and psychological environments that shape people and the factors that can facilitate change. No one theory can sum up all the factors in health behaviour, but theories can be used to focus on particular aspects of behaviour and to choose the most appropriate programmes for cancer control.
Behaviour: what people do
Behaviour ' is the general term covering all the physical acts performed by individuals. Examples of physical acts include walking, interacting with others, writing, reading and preparing to learn. Behaviour includes seeking or not seeking advice for health care and following or not following a prescribed medical regimen. It includes relationships with tobacco, food, alcohol and so on.
Cognition: what and how people think
Cognition ' is the term given to all the mental processes of an individual and includes not only aspects of thinking, such as knowledge, attitudes, motives, attributions and beliefs, but also perceptions, personal values, perceived cultural truths and memory. Cognition can be influenced by intelligence and past experience. Examples are religious convictions, wanting to be a good parent, distrusting modern medicine, knowing that smoking is dangerous for others but believing that it is not dangerous for one 's own health, and so on.
Context: the setting of behaviour and cognition
Context ' is a general term that is more inclusive than the general perception of the environment. It includes not only the social, cultural and physical environment but also interpersonal influences on behaviour and the emotional and psychological contexts of each act and cognition. These include laws,
References: Bandura A. Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annu Rev Psychol (2001) Rollnick S, Mason P, Butler C. Health behavior change. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 1999. National Cancer Institute [undated]. Theory at a glance. A guide for health promotion practice. NIH Publication No. 95-3896, revised 1997. Research Triangle Park, NC. http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinformation/theory-at-a-glance MacDonald G. Quality indicators and health promotion effectiveness. Promot Educ 1997;4:5–8. Glanz K, Lewis FM, Rimer BK. Health behavior and health education: Theory, research and practice. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Joey Bass, 1997.